ABILENE, Texas — The Wildcats came into Saturday needing to bounce back from a tough loss on the road and they delivered in dominant fashion. Much like their game against SLU, the Wildcats brought defensive efficiency from the start and earned a wire-to-wire win over Central Arkansas.
Kolton Kohl helped set the tone for ACU with an offensive rebound and putback to take the 2-0 lead and the team never looked back.
Southland Significance
The Wildcats move to 4-1 and remain in fourth place, a game behind Nicholls who sits at 6-1. Sam Houston remains atop the conference at 6-0 and SFA moved to 5-0 with a win over Lamar this afternoon.
Key Plays
- Kohl got the scoring started with an offensive rebound and putback on the opening possession that set the tone for the game
- After the Bears cut the Wildcats lead to one, the Wildcats got back-to-back layups, including a fastbreak opportunity off a steal by Joe Pleasant, to push their lead back to five.
- ACU used a 16-4 run over the course of six minutes in the first half to stretch their lead to 17 points with just over three minutes left in the half.
- The team closed the first half with steals on two of the Bears final three possessions and held the 14-point advantage at the break.
- ACU opened the second half with an 8-0 run and forcing turnovers on three of the first four Bears possessions.
- Clay Gayman hit a three to give the Wildcats a 22-point lead and UCA would never cut the lead to less than 20 from that point on.
- Cameron Steele, Logan McLaughlin, and Paul Hiepler combined to go 6-9 from deep in the second half.
Turning Point
After struggling some on offense early, the Wildcats came out of the half on an 8-0 run to push the lead over 20 and the Bears were never able to recover.
Coach and Player Interviews
Stat Pack
- With injuries to Coryon Mason and Immanuel Allen, Tobias Cameron came off the bench to score a career-high eight points in the first half. Cameron would not score in the second half, but he totaled six assists, four rebounds and three steals on the night.
- After shooting poorly from deep in the first half, the Wildcats connected on 9-17 from three-point range in the second half to help build their lead.
- The Wildcats totaled 29 assists on the afternoon which is the third most in the DI-era and the most ever against a DI opponent.
- The team forced 25 turnovers in the game, above their nation-leading 22 per game on the season.
- The 48 bench points was their second-highest total of the season behind the 51 points the bench scored against Howard Payne.
- Damien Daniels took his turn to do a little bit of everything for ACU with six points, five assists, a season-high four steals, and two rebounds.
Up Next
The Wildcats will remain at home but have a tough test ahead as they welcome an SFA team that is 5-0 in conference and on a six-game win streak. The two teams will tip off at 7:30 p.m. on January 27, immediately following the women's game.
